UK to help India reduce emission without affecting growth

The UK government will share new technologies in clean and renewable energy to help India in addressing climate change.(Reuters)

SummaryWe want to work very closely with India in addressing climate change by sharing the lessons we have learnt and the technologies we have access to.

The UK government will share new technologies in clean and renewable energy to help India in addressing climate change in a way that its growth will not be affected, a British minister said.

"We want to work very closely with India in addressing climate change by sharing the lessons we have learnt and the technologies we have access to. We see this as an opportunity to work together and share our knowledge," UK's Minister of the Department of Energy and Climate Change Baroness Sandip Verma told PTI during a visit here last evening.

Disagreeing with the contention that reducing carbon emissions would affect India's growth, the Indian-origin British politician said that there is no conflict between growth and addressing the challenges of climate change as the two could work hand in hand with the help of technology.

Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar had recently said in Delhi that developing countries like India had a right to grow and in the process net emission might increase.

"We have to understand that even the green economy is worth trillions of pounds. So we don't need to reduce our growth. There is no need for it. All we need to do is to adopt new technologies which are cleaner and safer for the planet," Verma said during an interactive session organised by the MCC Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI).

Stating that the notion was that developed countries were polluting for a longer time, she said that they were also ready to share their technology with developing nations in tackling the emission challenge.

With the goal of reducing carbon emissions, the minister said "We are looking forward to working with India on sectors like renewable and nuclear energy, hydro-power and biomass energy and anaerobic digestion."

Verma also suggested that India should consider a Green Investment Bank (GIB) like in Edinburgh.

"It has a lot of potential in India as an instrument to encourage investments in green economy. India should seriously look at it closely," she said.

GIB is a funding institution created by the UK government for financing projects in the low carbon economy.